HELENA - Gov. Brian Schweitzer maintains Montana's federal backcountry does not need more roads and says any county commissions that find otherwise should give him their road proposals by Jan. 1.

Schweitzer also has told commissioners he wants to meet with them at the Capitol on Nov. 28 for roadless discussions that, for many, will be a follow up to county visits he made in recent months.

The timeframe for proposals and the meeting invitation are in a letter the governor sent last week to commissioners of all 56 Montana counties.

Earlier this year, the Bush administration moved to allow logging or other commercial activity on millions of roadless acres in the nation's forests. Governors have until late 2006 to petition the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which includes the Forest Service, on the status of roadless federal lands in their states.

Montana has 6.3 million acres of roadless land, about two-thirds of it at issue in land-management debates.

Schweitzer said the Forest Service reports a $588 million backlog in maintenance of existing Montana roads the agency manages.

"Building new roads into backcountry areas would add more cost, and at this time I strongly believe adequate federal dollars should be available to fund forest management, forest and stream restoration and existing trail and road maintenance," he said in the letter.

"With proper management, currently roaded forest lands can supply the logs necessary to keep Montana's mills running, and help sustain our rural communities across the state."

Schweitzer said he wants commissioners whose counties have roadless federal lands to evaluate whether any new roads are necessary. He said any proposals, for which he set the Jan. 1 deadline, should include an analysis of the roads' environmental impact, construction and maintenance costs, and a summary of community support.

Ellen Engstedt, executive vice president of the Montana Wood Products Association, said the process for federal petitioning makes clear that it is not commissioners' responsibility to develop plans for roadless lands within their counties.

"It's asking a lot of county governments," Engstedt said Tuesday, adding she has encouraged her association's members to be involved at the county level as roadless issues are considered.

She said she suggested months ago that the Schweitzer administration gather people with a stake in how roadless lands are managed, and "develop some kind of petition that would be statewide and not county by county."

Chris Mehl of The Wilderness Society said of Schweitzer's letter, "I think it's great that the governor is listening."

Mehl also said the letter reflects the value of roadless lands as part of a system important for clean water, wildlife and recreation.

"When you have a good thing going, you don't mess with it lightly," he said.

In the letter, Schweitzer emphasized that he wants consideration of roadless lands to be clearly focused.

"Much of the roadless debate for over 30 years has amounted to philosophy, even theology, about how the Forest Service manages its 16.9 million acres of public lands in Montana," he wrote. "These tired arguments have gotten us nowhere. By keeping proposals specific to Montana's backcountry roadless lands and avoiding the temptation to rehash the management of the lands where we have built roads, I hope to focus our efforts on the administration's current request."